Edward’s evaluation: It’s déjà vu all over for Dixie. A year after upsetting Judge in the first round of the state tournament, Dixie once again opens the playoffs on the road at Judge. An upset seems even more unlikely this time around. Last year Dixie big man Walker Swensen created big match-up problems for Judge, but the Flyers don’t have that intimidating inside presence this year. After last year though, they might have the mental edge over Judge.

The Wasps welcome an excellent Desert Hills team to the Nest. The Wasps are
fortunate to have a first round home game. They accomplished this by winning 5
of their 6 last home games. During the last 6 games the Wasps are holding
opponents to 43 pts/game and scoring 52 pts/game. The most comparable team to
Desert Hills in Region 10 is an excellent Judge team. Judge gave the Wasps
their sole defeat during the last 6 games. It was a Wasp home game. The score
was JDG 45/WHS 40. Expect a similar contest between Desert Hills and WHS... low
scoring and the margin of victory will be 5 pts or fewer. The winner will have
to do the little things (e.g. solid foul shooting, reduce turn overs and manage
fouls of key players and at key times). Because I'm a WHS fan and I
can't divorce my emotions from the pick... I'm picking the Wasps by 4
points, 50 to 46... GO WASPS!!!!